Faraday Future loses another executive amid money woes

The vice president of Faraday Future’s human resources department is leaving the company. The Verge has learned that Alan Cherry, who was part of the original leadership team that founded the ambitious electric car startup back in 2014, announced that he was “stepping away” from the company during an all-hands meeting at the company’s headquarters today. A representative for Faraday Future has confirmed his departure.

“We can confirm that he will be starting a new role at a non-automotive industry startup,” the representative tells The Verge. “Alan has been instrumental in building out Faraday Future’s talent pool to more than 1,000 employees. We thank Alan for his incredible support for FF, and wish him best of luck in his next endeavor.”

Cherry, like many early FF execs, spent many years at Tesla

Cherry ran human resources for Tesla from 2008 to 2012, and helped start FF with other Tesla expats like Nick Sampson and Tom Wessner. His exit is just the latest in a growing line of executive departures from the company, which has struggled in the last year as LeEco, its biggest financial investor, ran into its own serious financial troubles. This past weekend, the company finally signed a lease on a new factory in California after plans to build its own in Nevada fell through. And that move was only possible because the company just received a $14 million “rescue loan” from a new investment firm, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Just two weeks ago, Cherry had accepted a “newly created role” leading the company’s employment training and development programs, according to an internal email from COO Stefan Krause that has been obtained by The Verge. It’s unclear what prompted Cherry’s departure, but sources tell The Verge that the move to a new role was viewed as a demotion. Crystal Peterson, the company’s previous HR director, has assumed Cherry’s role.

Update August 8th, 7:25PM ET: Faraday Future has confirmed Cherry’s departure. The post has been updated to reflect this.